1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an enclosure to be used with sand or water as a play enclosure, sandbox or play pool, preferably for indoor use in nursery school or home settings. Removable corner elements are provided for fitting in a receiving structure. A first type of corner element holds writing and cutting instruments for paperwork play by the children and alternately fittable corner elements strain the sand or water. The corners can optionally be fitted with plain seats.
2. Prior Art
Children regularly play in structurally confined areas. Very young children often play in playpens and preschool children play in low box-like enclosures adapted to hold sand and/or water. In the vernacular, these box-like structures are called sandboxes or kiddy pools. When configured for indoor use, sand or water play boxes are conventionally provided with high sides, e.g. two feet, such that the children stand around the box. The high sides keep the sand or water confined. When the box is configured for outside play, children customarily sit on the bottom or on the sides of the box or pool, whether it holds sand or water, and play with toys in a center region of the pool. To further stimulate the child play, the seating area around the pool according to the invention doubles as a table-like structure that confines spillage. Child play is further increased according to the invention by providing interchangeable portions of the seating or table structure adapted for specific use in paperwork, sand and water play. The periphery of the enclosure includes removable corner sections that for paperwork hold crayons, pencils, markers or other such writing instruments, cutting instruments such as scissors, and a supply of paper. The elements can also hold various types of water color or paint. The paperwork corner elements are interchangeable with elements for straining with water or sand, which are in effect fluid mediums, to stimulate the children's play. These elements, which are also useful to separate toys from sand or water, can also be interchangeable with regular seats.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,423,955 to Widener discloses a sandbox having corner seats at the intersection between the low rise sides of a rectilinear, open top box. The seats have depending flanges that cooperate with an outwardly protruding flange on the box. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 277,300 to Appel et al. shows a combined sandbox and sifter having an outwardly extending peripheral shelf and a movable straining bar structure spanning the entire width of the open top, rectilinear box-like structure. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 245,357 to Burgess et al. discloses a sand or water play drum having an inwardly depending peripheral shelf which provides seating for children U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,828 to Lattuca discloses a plastic sand and water pool having uniquely configured corner seats for children. The surfaces of the seats are below the plane of the open top, rectilinear structure. U.S. Pat. No. 2,673,086 to Brown, Sr. discloses a children's collapsible sandbox having laterally extending, removable seats at each end of the open top, rectilinear structure. These seats have side faces depending from the top surfaces of the seats and covering the outside edges of the sandbox. U.S. Pat. No. 3,454,272 to Elkington et al. discloses a child's playpen and sandbox that is circular with a central open region within which a child sits. U.S. Pat. No. 2,199,915 to Howard discloses a child's play bowl with an umbrella vertically disposed above the bowl. U.S. Pat. No. 1,018,373 to Robbins discloses a kindergarten table that includes an open top, rectilinear structure subdivided into a sandbox region and a tabletop region. U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,244 to Gaspar discloses a child's play seat apparatus that is generally a water table with a plurality of play toys disposed above the water table and an integral seat.